A new course on stream environment for 8-10 year olds

Stream Seekers (a Cam Valley Forum Activity)

Enjoy watching water flowing by?
Wondered where it starts and stops?
Why is it clean or dirty?
Why one stream differs from another?
Why do different plants live there, or here?
Where are streams?

Four, two hour courses, each for five to eight children running in June, July, August and September.

Leader: Dr S.M. Haslam, international expert on rivers and long-time Brownie Guide.

Address: Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EA. Tel: 01223 356873

Also:
Join Streamseekers! Helper(s) wanted, preferably to work with the course, but someone enjoying reading under a shady tree also welcome!

Getting a grip: ‘Velcro’-like structure helps bees stick to flowers

A paper by Heather M. Whitney, Lars Chittka, Toby J.A. Bruce and Beverley J. Glover in Current Biology shows that bumblebees can recognise the texture of petal surfaces by touch alone. More importantly, they choose to land on petals with conical cells that make it easier to grip, rather than on flat, smooth surfaces.

Read the press release at University of Cambridge, or the article at Current Biology.

Rooted in history

Plant Sciences annual contribution to Cambridge University's Science Festival:

Rooted in history
14 March 10:00 - 16:00

Become a plant hunter and journey into the world of plants. Discover exciting plant species and look inside to discover extraordinary details. A hands on event for all ages. No need to book, just turn up at the marquee in front of the Department of Plant Sciences.
Read more at Cambridge News Online.

There are many more events at the Science Festival.

Fully-funded PhD position in Stress Signalling

Applications are being accepted for a PhD position in Dr Alex Webb's laboratory investigating plant stress signalling. The PhD position is funded in full by a BBSRC-Industrial Case award to Alex Webb. The successful candidate will receive training both in Dr Webb's laboratory at Cambridge and also with our industrial partner in Belgium. This is an exciting opportunity to perform fundamental research with potential real-world applications and receive world-class training in both an academic and industrial environment. Applicants should in the first instance contact directly Dr Alex Webb (alex.webb@plantsci.cam.ac.uk)

The post is funded for 4 years. UK Citizens are elgible for funding for fees and living expenses. EU citizens are elegible for fee-sonly funding. Funding is not availible for non-European Union Citizens.

Floral Iridescence, Produced by Diffractive Optics, Acts As a Cue for Animal Pollinators

Heather Whitney and Beverley Glover have been published in Science: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1166256.

News report in The Daily Telegraph.

News report in The University of Cambridge.

Five crop researchers who could change the world

Julian Hibberd has been identified as one of 'Five crop researchers who could change the world' by Nature, the top interdisciplinary scientific journal (volume 456, 563-569). The Nature news feature covers the work of five ambitious scientists determined to stop the world from going hungry. Julian's research programme, with funding from the International Rice Research Institute, will attempt to produce rice with the C4 photosynthesis pathway, potentially increasing grain yield by up to 50%.

Read the Article.

PhD studentship applications now being accepted

Click here to visit the studentship webpage

The Department is the premier University Centre for research in plant and microbial sciences. It offers unrivalled research and training opportunities in the following areas of plant and microbial science:

• Bioenergy


• Cell Biology and Development


• Crop Improvement and Protection


• Epidemiology, Ecology and Evolution


• Systems Biology and Mathematical Modelling